The Brazilian Grand Prix stewards ruled Lewis Hamilton did not gain an advantage when he overtook Oliver Bearman off the track during the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Hamilton slowed down and let Bearman overtake him on lap seven after the stewards began investigating the incident.The stewards do not order drivers to swap positions but can issue penalties of five or ten seconds if they determine a competitor gained a place on a rival by going outside track limits. Teams often instruct drivers to surrender positions to avoid these potentially more costly penalties.
Hamilton passed Bearman at the exit of Descida do Lago on the first lap of the race. Bearman had gone off earlier in the lap at Curva do Sol.
The stewards ruled Hamilton had sufficient speed advantage over Bearman to make the pass and was forced off the track by his rival. However in explaining their decision not to penalise Hamilton they also noted he let Bearman past.
“In defending the position, car 87 [Barman] moved to the right and car 44 [Hamilton] was pushed off the track to avoid a collision. Car 44 clearly had the momentum for the overtake and gained no advantage by going off the track. We also noted that the position was subsequently given back by car 44. We therefore took no further action.”
There have been cases in which the stewards have declined to penalise a driver for overtaking a rival off-track and not giving back the position, notably when Yuki Tsunoda forced Lando Norris off during last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and